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I've always believed God only gives special children to special people. W/O suffering we would not know empathy or compassion which I believe are vital attributes for humanity.--JB

I would like to comment on this, because it is based on a lot of unfounded assumptions and dare I say it, ignorance.

I assume by "special children" JB means children with birth defects, disabilities, rare illnesses, behavioral disorders, and so forth. "Special people" are, presumably, those who rise to the challenge of caring well for children with these difficult conditions. The implication of the second sentence is that god makes some children disabled on purpose so that the people who come into contact with them feel sorry for them and their suffering.

Now, some facts: 1) Most "special children" in human history have died horrible, painful deaths at birth or as small babies, because there was no way to care for them. Before the 20th century, there were very few severely disabled kids around, because they never survived infancy. Thanks, god.

2) Caring for a child with severe problems takes a terrible emotional and financial toll on a family, usually leading to neglect of other children in the family. Often, having a child who will need constant care for their entire life is just too much of a strain. Divorce and family disintegration are not uncommon. Thanks again, god.

3) In poor countries, when families can't care for them, these children are abandoned to orphanages or even neglected to the point of early death. Too bad the compassion and empathy have to take a back seat to feeding the other kids you have. So nice of god to do that to these children.

4) The orphanages are overcrowded and underfunded, so the children are again severely neglected. I volunteered at one such place and the staff was stretched so thin that they were just able to feed and clean the children. They did not even have time to hold the babies or play with the children, so that is what I did. A friend volunteered at a center for abandoned kids in Romania and saw such horrors that she never got over it. Gee, god. Maybe you should think before making any more of these kids?

5) After being in such conditions, if the kids are ever adopted, they have serious attachment disorders and emotional disturbances-- some attack and stab other family members, etc. One special family put their messed up little special angel on a plane back to Russia. Alone. How special.

6) In many countries, people "rent" these kids from their desperate parents and make them beg, then take all that they earn. The adults in these kids' lives, far from learning compassion and empathy, decline to give the kids medical treatment so they look more pitiful and earn extra from begging.

7) Even when there is enough money, not every person who deals with these kids is "special". Some are abusive and crazy.We have just had a trial in our area of a sweet Christian family who beat and starved the disabled children they adopted from Africa. One girl died from the treatment. The sweet Christian dad says he had nothing to do with it, throwing the sweet Christian mom under the bus. Sweet.

It does a disservice to the social service agencies, teachers, emergency workers, police and other people who have to deal with these situations to gloss it over with craptastic Pollyanna statements like "God only gives special children to special people". Not in the real world, JB.